CANCER patients in Wales could be losing out on millions of pounds in unclaimed benefits, a leading charity has warned.

Macmillan Cancer Support said its welfare benefits advisers had helped patients in two local authorities claim £3.5m in unclaimed benefits in three years.

It said many patients were unsure how to claim or were put off by lengthy paperwork with no guarantee of being found eligible at the end of the process.

The charity has helped patients in Rhondda Cynon Taf to claim £3m in three years, while patients in Neath Port Talbot have claimed more than £500,000 in the space of just 18 months.

It has also handed out almost £300,000 in grants to 856 patients in Wales, with more than £90,000 of that going towards increased fuel bills.

Carmarthenshire and Wrexham are the only other areas in the country with access to a benefits adviser funded by Macmillan, meaning many cancer patients in Wales may not realise they can claim for help.

It comes as latest figures from Macmillan reveal 91% of cancer patients’ households suffer loss of income and increased costs as a direct result of cancer, while among people under 55 years, seven out of 10 households suffer a loss in income following a cancer diagnosis, with the average fall being by 50%.

Cath Lindley, general manager for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales, said the £3.5m saved in South Wales was just a small proportion of what could be claimed nationwide.

She said: “The figure for the amount of benefits claimed by Macmillan welfare benefits advisers in South Wales illustrates the need for such a service in Wales. Macmillan has discovered that nine out of 10 patients’ households suffer a loss of income or increased costs as a direct result of a cancer diagnosis.

“Benefits make a real difference to people who have to deal with money worries on top of having cancer and Macmillan can help people find their way through the notoriously complicated benefits system.

“Patients tell us that financial worries are second only to pain as a cause of stress so it is vital that they get access to financial support at the earliest stage.”

Tina Smith, Macmillan welfare benefits adviser for Neath Port Talbot, said: “Most of the people I work with are quite unaware they can access benefits and a lot of people don’t know what they are entitled to.

“Some people do come to me for help with the forms, but others will just ring me and everything is up in the air for them – they are going through treatment, their employer has often stopped paying them and they don’t know where to turn.

“That’s where I come in. I’m there to advise them on what benefits they might be entitled to and help them make their claims.”

She said many patients who had never previously claimed benefits either had no idea who to approach or were too proud to ask for help. “A lot of people of working age who have never had to access the benefits system often find it difficult to negotiate and the process can be confusing and overwhelming for them,” she said.

“They don’t know what to do and they come up against legislation they don’t understand.

“At the same time, not all employers pay statutory sick pay for the length of time some organisations do and on top of that many people are also struggling to pay their mortgage.

“It’s quite a stressful time because of course there are other psychological issues involved when someone is going through a cancer journey.

“Time and time again people have said to me if I hadn’t helped them they would never have done it on their own.

“We try to catch people before they slip through the net, but there must be so many across Wales who are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to.”

One such patient is Patricia Day, 69, of Neath, who was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago.

She said she did not even know she could claim benefits until Tina came to see her.

“When I was first diagnosed I came home from hospital after the operation and a Macmillan nurse came to visit me,” she said.

“I worked in a GP’s surgery for 22 years and I had been accustomed to thinking they were nurses who just treated people, when I saw Tina and she told me she would help me claim benefits I just looked at her – I couldn’t believe it.

“She arranged it all because I didn’t have any idea about these benefits or how I could go about claiming them.

“It has been a long and difficult process but in the end, with Tina’s help, I was actually able to claim.”

After undergoing a lumpectomy, a course of chemo-theraphy and radiotherapy, Patricia is now in remission but has to undergo five years of regular check-ups before she gets the all-clear.

She added: “I think when you are diagnosed with cancer you are in a world of your own – you are in shock – and it is very hard to deal with things like your finances and what benefits are available to you.

“I’m lucky because what I have is treatable, but for some people it’s not and they need help to access their benefits quickly because it can take so long.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Everyone’s situation is different and their individual circumstances are taken into account when assessing their eligibility for benefit.”

To help cancer patients and carers find out what benefits they may be able to claim, Macmillan has launched an online program called Benefits Made Clear, which can be found at www.macmillan.org.uk/benefitsmadeclear

For more information about Macmillan Cancer Support, visit www.macmillan.org.uk or for support and help freephone 0808 808 00 00.

To take part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday September 24 and raise funds for Macmillan cancer support, visit www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee or call 0845 602 1246.